Wet your Whistle

I'll back up Bernie's post and say that I was glad to ride yesterday in the rain and had much more fun out getting wet than waiting inside wet - so keep the calls coming. I got the worst of the soaking on my way home actually but I was thinking to myself, "You know, no matter what the weather is like, I feel better riding my bike than I ever would not riding it." It makes me wonder why I'll often use a myriad of excuses not to ride.

Yes, we work in the rain.

Lots of customers have said things like, "I try not to call you guys when the weather is bad."

They say it with the best intentions, thinking they're doing us a favor. But truth be told, we like riding in the rain, and we've invested in lots of nice waterproof equipment and clothing, so the package arrives safe and dry with us.

Don't hesitate; call us!

Work for us.

Sometimes we need somebody to be on call as a bike messenger. Right now, we have most days of the week covered by an independent bike messenger. But sometimes somebody's out of town, or has a doctors appointment, or some other commitment.

We'll post days we need riders here as they come up. To deliver for us you'll need a bike, a bag, a cell phone, and to be comfortable riding in traffic (though the traffic in Downtown Fort Worth isn't usually too hairy). If you'd like to be notified when a day is available, let us know.

Some days I already know we'll need couriers to cover:

Monday, March 19
Tuesday, April 17
Friday, April 20

Being a bike messenger is fun! Get paid to ride your bike, how cool is that?



UPDATE: Monday the 19th has been covered.

Voila!

What do you think of our new look!?

Help us with this blog...

I'm website-stupid. Do any readers/contributors know how to make a cool custom banner for this blog? Anybody wanna volunteer to help us with this?

A cool bike messenger action banner, where we could include our phone number so potential clients can reach us? (If you're a potential client in Fort Worth reading this, our number is 401-0146).

Fix me.

So I had a few runs right off the bat yesterday morning which was a great start for the day (or re-start depending how you look at it, because I get off work at my other job, then turn around and ride to PCB to do the Monday courier runs), but then the rest of the day was pretty darn dead. I came in the shop excited after the runs though because I had tried riding my single speed road bike my friend built from various discarded bike parts and was amazed at how fast it was. Until yesterday I had just cruised around on it. Anyway, apparently the rear wheel was not built correctly for a single speed, so my chainline wasn't really straight. I talked with Bernie about rebuilding it, but for what it would cost, I could almost afford to get a flip flop single speed/fixed wheel that was already built up with a velocity rim. After sitting around at the shop most of the day lusting after this wheel, I decided to drop the cash and Bernie showed me how to set it up with a new Surly track cog and lockring so that I could join the ICFGD (International Church of Fixed Gear Devotees). My ride home was fun and I really like how the fixed gear handles hills. However, I realized really quick all the times I usually coast for a second, like when I go from pedaling hard standing up to sitting in the saddle or when I cut across oncoming traffic onto a side street, etc. Anyway, I'm looking forward to re-learning how to ride with my new fixie. My geared bike, which I used to pull a trailer and my daughter to go grocery shopping today, is already feeling weird.

New Clients

We just got two new clients, one high-profile architecture firm, and one chocolatier (how cool is that!?).

Do any readers out there want to play bike messenger on Thursdays?

Helmet Cam!

Since the weather has been so nice lately, I decided to dig the helmet cam out of the closet and play with it some. I chose a great day to do it! Stopped by the bike shop and it was packed! Shaggy was there, Bernie was hanging out, Jason was doin' the bike thing, and Kenneth stopped by with his sweet track bike.

It took me all of 14 seconds to convince the guys to go out on a ride with me so I could get some video footage. Went home last night, threw something together on my Mac, and thought I would share the results with you guys.

The video goes from the bike shop, downtown to check in on a client, then towards the Water Gardens. There's more footage to come, escapades at the Flying Saucer and other Shenanigans. That's for later though...

Them's my boys.....ready for action....
feel soorrry for anyone who getsintheway.

Who's house?
thier house.

J

On Friday ( thank's Whistler) 3/9, death sport fans,
we will be meeting for the 1:45pm show of 300.
Meet at the shop at 1:00 pm,
and then we ride to Hellllllll!!!!!!!

J

Bikes=Better

Got a rush delivery right at the end of the day yesterday and was able to see the real benefit of sending parcels by bike. Traffic was already backed way up on Summit and I just pedaled by the whole lot and squeezed right behind the first couple of cars right as the light turned green and went on my way. I picked up and dropped with time to spare while a car would have been stuck in traffic and never even made it by 5:00. So that made me feel pretty good, as did riding back to the shop to find a cold pint of The Ugly Pug with the Whistler's name on it.

Elevator Conversation

So Jason has been asked twice recently in elevators whether he's on his way up to jump off the building! Did I miss something? Have people been base jumping off Fort Worth office towers?

I know our Chrome messenger bags...



... with their fancy seatbelt buckle look heavy duty, but "parachute" is not the first thing I think when I look at them. Oh well, at least we're starting to get people used to seeing bike couriers in DTFW. "OH, you're a bike messenger. OK."